Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as the Kingdom of Siam, is a Southeast Asian country and a member of ASEAN. It is located to the north of the Southeast Asian subregion, bordering Laos to its north and east along the Mekong River, Cambodia and the Gulf of Thailand to its east, Malaysia to its south and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar (Burma) to its west. It is inhabited by 68 million people, of which more than a half live in rural areas. Its capital and most populated city is Bangkok (also known as Krung Thep Mahanakon), with over 8 million inhabitants, or 14.5 million when counting the whole metropolitan area. Its official language is Thai, although there are several regional languages and dialects. Its official currency is the Thai Baht (THB).

Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia, and the fourth in terms of per capita income, after Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. The country has a diversified economy, driven by its industry and services, and heavily dependent on exports. Thailand has deposits of natural resources such as gypsum, lead, natural gas, rubber, tin and tungsten.

The service sector plays an important role in its economy, accounting for half of its GDP, and is mainly comprised of retail, financial and banking services, and tourism, which with over 32 million visitors in 2016, accounted for 17.7% of its GDP.

Its industrial sector, focused on exports, is mainly comprised of the automotive, electronics, electrical appliances and garment industries.

Regarding the primary sector, although it accounts about 10% of its GDP, it employs more than a third of its labor force. Its main crops are rice, and Thailand is the second largest rice exporter worldwide. Other agricultural products that are produced in significant quantities are tapioca, rubber, cereals, sugar and some tropical fruits such as pineapple. The country is also one of the top seafood exporters worldwide.

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If you want to set up a company, open a bank account, immigrate and/or obtain residency permits in Thailand, you can view some of the articles and more information about the country below, or get in contact with us directly for a free private consultation.